


The Greatest Mistake

by FallzVentus



Series: Jeremwood FMA AU [2]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alchemy, Blood, Car Accidents, Death, FMA AU, Human Transmutation, M/M, Sacrifice, Sadness, Signs of Depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 05:07:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9163522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallzVentus/pseuds/FallzVentus
Summary: Before the armor. Before the leg. Before the arm. Before the military. Before the Full Metal Alchemist. There was Jeremy, Ryan, a dream, and a family.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah.... those who know the anime know what this is going to be. This is a flashback story to how things became the way they are. I hope you enjoy (and don’t kill me later)

“Jeremy....Jeremy....JEREMY!” Ryan yelled shaking his boyfriend awake. Jeremy jolted awake and looked up to see blue eyes looking into his. He chuckled and threw his face. Ryan laughed in return moved the pillow. “Come on; if you don’t get up we’ll miss our train.” 

“We can afford to be a little can’t we?” Jeremy asked while grabbing Ryan’s arm. He tried to get the taller man in bed with him, but Ryan wasn’t budging. 

“Do you really want to miss out on Ray’s cooking then? I heard he was making a special meal just for us. It would be a shame for it to get cold.” Jeremy perked up at the mention of Ray’s cooking and sat up. 

“You sure know how to get me out of bed Haywood.” 

“I know how to do the reverse as well.” 

Jeremy hit Ryan in the chest only for the older man to laugh in return. Jeremy stretched out his back and headed to the bathroom to go get ready. They had a long trip ahead of them back to Resembol. They have spent so long in Central to study Alchemy that they honestly couldn’t believe they were finally going home. They could practically see their alchemy shop sitting in their little town. With their academics complete, all that was left was to begin the steps of opening it up. 

“Ryan, did you remember the to pack the gifts for Michael and Gavin as well?” Jeremy shouted from the bathroom. 

“We got them the new materials for their automail right?” 

“That’s it.” 

“It’s in my bag.” 

“What about Ray’s?” 

“I have the roses and rose seeds in a separate bag.” 

“Don’t f-” 

“Jeremy, we have everything. Don’t worry so much.” 

Jeremy walked out of the bathroom with a towel on his head. He smiled to Ryan and hugged him. 

“I know I shouldn’t worry but... we’ve been dreaming this for years. It’s about to become a reality.” Ryan hugged the shorter man back. 

“Yeah, I know, but if you keep worrying we’ll never move forward.” Jeremy chuckled and separated from Ryan. 

“Alright, I’ll be ready in a second. You have our tickets right?” Ryan froze. Jeremy looked at him in confusion. “Ryan...” 

“I thought you had them.” 

“Ryan!” 

+++++++++++++++++

Ray was sitting in his living room as tired as ever. He just spent the past two hours cooking a massive dinner for all of his friends. He was not used to doing this much work in one day, but it was for a special occasion. How could he not do this? It still meant he wanted to take a long nap right about now. He would’ve achieved this is if wasn’t for the pair of feet running down the stairs like a stampede. 

“Are they here yet?” Gavin asked loudly as he raced into the kitchen. Ray groaned. 

“No, Gavin. Does it look like they’re here yet?” 

“Well if you were looking out the window, you would be able to tell me.” 

“Gavin, so help me, if you don’t allow me to take this one nap, I will kill you.” 

“You nap all the time Ray.” 

“I just finished cooking a massive meal!” 

“And we’re going to enjoy the hell out of it,” Jeremy said walking into the kitchen. Ray and Gavin looked up in shock to see Michael, Jeremy, and Ryan standing in the kitchen entrance with bags in their hands and smiles on their faces. Gavin was about to tackle them into a hug, but Ray beat him to it. The young one brought his arms around the two alchemist chest and brought them close. He had to admit that he missed the two greatly. 

“Glad to see you two idiots are finally home. Now I know all this food I prepared wasn’t for nothing,” he said letting them go so Gavin could get his hug. 

“ I’m sorry we made you work hard, Ray,” Ryan said with a smug grin. 

“Hey, I work hard all the time!” 

“Sure Ray,” Michael said walking out the kitchen to go set the table. 

“So, how’d the studies go?” Gavin asked. 

“We’ve learned a lot actually. We should be able to help out a lot of people once we open up shop,” Jeremy said putting his bag down. 

“You can ensure me and Michael will be your first customers when someone breaks out automail.” 

“We can fix it fine on our own!” Michael yelled. 

“There’s no harm in getting some extra help!” 

“If your alchemy comes anyway near my automail you two, I will not be held responsible for whatever happens next.” 

Ryan and Jeremy laughed in response. It was as if the two never left. They went up to their room to put their bags away. It was small, but it was what they called home. The couple shared a bed anyway, so room wasn’t much of a problem. Jeremy plopped down on the bed and took in the familiar scent of their pillows. He never thought he would miss this small room so much. Him, Ray, and Ryan has spent their entire lives in this house. To be so close with his family couldn’t help but warm his heart. He looked up to Ryan and saw the older man smiling down at him. 

“Comfortable?” he asked sitting on the side of the bed. Jeremy hummed. 

“Of course I am. I never thought I’d miss this old bed.” 

“Well this bed does have memories.” 

“You mean Ray locking us in here until he shared our first kiss on this bed so we’d ‘get our heads out of our asses’?” Ryan laughed. 

“Hey, that worked out in the end.” Jeremy smiled. 

“Yeah, I guess,” he said as he sat up. He slowly wrapped his arms around Ryan’s neck and brought their lips together. Ryan hummed in response and brought Jeremy closer to him. They stayed like this until they heard a familiar yell. 

“Get down here assholes! I didn’t make all this food just so you two can make out!” Ray yelled from downstairs. The couple separated and laughed. 

It felt so good to be home. 

++++++++++++++++

Ryan grunted as he placed the final box down on the ground. It’s been at least a month since they returned home. After a week of relaxing, Jeremy and Ryan got to work on starting to set up their business. Ray had helped them find a space while Michael and Gavin helped them with the paperwork. They still had a long way to go before opening day, but so far things were looking up. 

“What’s that Ryan?” Jeremy asked as he offered him a glass of water. 

“More of the books we ordered. Still no sign of that bookshelf though.” Jeremy sighed. 

“If it doesn’t come, I might end up building one. At least I’ll get a break from paperwork.” 

“It has to be done Jeremy.” 

“But can’t you do it instead?” Ryan chuckled. 

“This is what happens when you draw the short straw.” 

“Watch it.” 

“I see you two are working hard,” Ray asked walking into the soon to be shop. Jeremy grinned. 

“Yup. Somehow it’s all coming together.” 

“I would help, but someone has to keep an eye on the house while you two are building your dream.” 

“That’s a terrible excuse and you know it.” Ray laughed and sat on one of the boxes. 

“I’m actually here because while you walked away, another box was delivered to the house. I think it’s that bookshelf you were just complaining about.”

“Oh thank god. That’s less work we have to do,” Jeremy said. Ryan sighed. He wasn’t looking forward to carrying more shit. Jeremy noticed and lightly shoved his shoulder with a smile on his face. “Hey, I’ll help you out this time.” 

“But then who’ll watch the shop?” 

“I’m here. I don’t feel like walking back anyway. Also someone needs to figure out your interior decoration. You two idiots are opening a shop.” 

Jeremy and Ryan laughed and left their friend to handle the shop. Ray smiled and then turned around to face the unfinished store. He already had a vision in mind. He searched the store for a pencil and paper. He sat on a box and began to sketch. He started to imagine what the shop will look like in the coming months. The shop would be lined with bookshelves. Blue flowers would give the shop a sense of life. There’d be a little shopping area in the corner. Ray couldn’t help but smile at the image that was forming in his head. To have this dream come true was everything to those two. He was just happy to be a part of it. 

Ray was so wrapped in this thought that he didn’t notice the shadow getting closer and closer to him. 

++++++++++

 

“You know we’re going to have to get about twenty of these right?” Jeremy said as he drove the car around the corner to the shop. 

“Yeah, but that’s not a problem for now. That’s a future problem. We have to make sure our paperwork is set before we start organizing stuff,” Ryan said. 

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Seriously, you can take a turn with the paper-” Jeremy stopped mid sentence when he noticed something was wrong. There was smoke over the horizon from up ahead. It seemed to be coming from the shop. The couple shared a look and Jeremy sped up the car. What they saw was a nightmare to behold. 

Half of the shop was destroyed. An automobile was wedged in between the front of the shop and back. Jeremy immediately stopped the car and raced out of the driver seat. As he got closer to the shop, he could see that books were sprawled everywhere. Some of them were destroyed from being rolled over by the vehicle. However, that wasn’t on Jeremy’s mind. 

“Ray?! Ray, where are you?!” he shouted. He didn’t see him anywhere. Ryan came running behind him. Jeremy looked at Ryan worried. “Ryan, I don’t see Ray anywhere.” 

“He might have left to come get us. Let’s just wait here in case he comes back.” Jeremy nodded and then walked over to damaged vehicle. It was completely wrecked. The front windshield was smashed open thanks to the crash. He could see that the driver was dead from impact thanks to the blood on his head. He started to inspect the car when he noticed a pair of glasses on the ground. They were Ray’s. 

“Ryan!” he shouted panicked. Ryan ran over and saw the glasses. He paled. No. This couldn’t be. The taller man began the process of pushing the automobile out of the shop. Jeremy began to help him. They did very little to move the car, but they were desperate. As the vehicle inched slowly out of the shop, they saw more and more blood be revealed. They stopped when they saw a familiar head of hair. 

“No...No no no no no,” Jeremy said falling to his knees. He began to try to pull the body from under the heavy machinery. The body slowly moved and the move Jeremy was in disbelief. When the body was fully removed, it was very clear that it belonged to Ray. 

“Ray...Ray come on this isn’t funny...Come on wake up,” the short man said lightly slapping Ray’s cheek. Ray didn’t move. Jeremy kept attempting to wake Ray up. Ryan knelt next to him trying to find a pulse. When he couldn’t find one, he double checked multiple times. He swore that he could find one, but was having no luck. It wasn’t long until he gave up on trying to find one. He was too busy fighting the tears that was falling down his face. 

“Ray...Ray please...” Jeremy sobbed. Ryan looked to his lover and saw his face puffy and red from crying. He slowly moved over to him and embraced him. Jeremy refused to let go. 

This couldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t. Their dream. Their future. All of their time and effort put into studying alchemy. 

What was it worth without Ray? 

+++++++++++++++

Jeremy sat on his bed as it rained outside. It was the day after Ray’s funeral. It was a small service consisting of a few people who knew Ray from their childhood, Ryan, Jeremy, Michael, and Gavin. Apparently the man who was driving had lost control of his vehicle and couldn’t avoid crashing into the shop. The people shared their condolences with Ryan and Jeremy knowing that the three of them used to spend so much time together. They were practically brothers. They held each other up during the most depressing of times. When their parents died. When they were sick. When they needed to be defended. They were always there for each other. MIchael and Gavin were there, but Ray had been a part of Ryan and Jeremy’s lives for such a long time. 

Ryan walked into the room with a plate of food. He hated seeing Jeremy like this. The ambition and life that he usually found in the shorter man’s eyes was replaced with a depression that continued to spiral into a grey abyss. He honestly couldn’t blame him. Ryan himself was going through a similar depression. However, he knew he had to be there for Jeremy during this dark time. He sat next to his lover and held the plate to him. 

“You have to eat something,” he muttered. Jeremy didn’t answer. He didn’t move. He just stared blankly out the window. Ryan sighed and placed the food on the nightstand. It was most likely going to go cold. He brought Jeremy closer to him and just sat there holding him. They both needed some sort of reminder that this wasn’t a nightmare. This was real. As much as they didn’t want it to be. They sat in silence for about another hour. 

“Remember when we told Ray we were off to study alchemy?” Ryan muttered. He felt Jeremy nod into his chest. “He was so pissed at first. He was wondering how the heck he’d take over the house and who to shove chores onto when he wanted to take a nap.” Jeremy continued to nod. The tears were starting to fall again. “But then he just made us promise to come back at least once a month so we can show off our alchemy skills, He would personally break shit so we could bring it back together with alchemy.” 

“Bring it back together...” Jeremy muttered. 

The tears stopped. His mind was racing. They’ve brought back many things with alchemy. Broken glass. Broken radios. Broken pictures. Who said they couldn’t bring back Ray? 

Jeremy quickly jumped up and raced over to the box of books that survived the crash. He frantically went through them to find the right formula. Ryan just watched quietly. This was the most Jeremy moved in since the accident. When Jeremy stopped, he spoke. 

“What is it Jeremy?” he asked walking over to him. 

“What if... What if we bring Ray back?” 

“But... Ray’s dead...” 

“For now he is. We can bring him back. With Alchemy.” 

“You mean... perform a human transmutation?” 

“Yeah. We could probably do it once we get the right ingredients.” 

“But... no one has been able to do it successfully.” 

“That doesn’t mean we can’t. There has to be a way. There’s gotta be.” 

Ryan thought about it. There were so many risk in performing a human transmutation. The equivalent of the human soul was always in question. No one knew what it was made of. The body was simple, but the soul was complex. What could possibly equate to Ray’s soul? 

“Roses...” he muttered. Jeremy blinked. 

“Ryan...” 

“Ray put his heart and soul in the roses he grew. Along with us, he cared about those roses more than anything. If we make that a part of the sacrifice along with maybe some of our blood then....” 

“We could bring him back.” 

The two stared into each other’s eyes. They studied alchemy to help people in this town. To open a shop to assist everyone. 

But first they had learn how to help themselves with alchemy. 

+++++++++

 

“35L of water?” 

“Check.” 

“20kg of carbon?” 

“Check.” 

“4L of Ammonia?” 

“Check.” 

“1.5kg of Lime?”

“Check.”

“800g of Phosphorus?” 

“Check.” 

250g of salt?” 

“Check.” 

“100g of saltpeter?” 

“Check.” 

“80g of Sulfur?”

“Check.” 

“7.5g of Fluorine?” 

“Check.” 

“5g of Iron?” 

“Check. 

“And 3g of Silicon?” 

“Check.” 

Ryan put down the list and saw that Jeremy had put all of the ingredients he placed down together in a basin. It took them about a month to gather all of these ingredients. Michael and Gavin had come to check on them, but they refused the company. Ray wasn’t going to be gone for long. Until then, they refused to interact with a world without him. The older man was still nervous about this, but there was a slight chance this could work. He picked up the roses next to him and added them to the basin. 

“Ok, so we just need to add the final ingredient,” he said. Jeremy shook his head. 

“We should draw the formula first. That way we don’t run the risk of messing up the circle while drawing it.” Ryan nodded and went to go grab the chalk. 

The two worked together on drawing the circle. They would reference their book to make sure their lines were correct. When they finished, the transmutation circle took up most of their basement. They carefully moved the basin to the center of the circle. Ryan pulled out a knife and cut his finger. He passed it to Jeremy and watched him do the same thing. 

“You ready for this?” he asked his younger lover and he nodded. They both placed their fingers over the basin and watched as two drops of blood connected with the roses. They walked out of the circle and knelt onto the floor. 

“Don’t worry Ray. You’ll be back with us soon,” Jeremy muttered and clapped his hands together along with Ryan. 

They placed their hands on the transmutation circle and watched it glow with the blue lightning they were accustomed to. Jeremy couldn’t help but smile. They were really doing this. Soon, this house will feel warm again. It will be filled with life. All of this will be accomplished once Ray returns. 

But something was wrong. Dark shadows began to rise on the outland of the circle. They swirled around as if they were waiting for the arrival of something. Jeremy and Ryan looked at each other worryingly. They looked to the circle and saw a giant eye open before them. Small hand like tendrils were rising out of the circle. 

“W-What the hell?!” Jeremy yelled. 

The tendrils immediately went for their bodies. Ryan tried to jump away with Jeremy in tow, but the tendrils had restrained him. He fought against his restraints as much as he could, but it was to no use. Jeremy tried to assist Ryan, but a tendril was wrapped tightly around his leg. 

“Ryan!” he shouted and watched what happened next in horror. 

Ryan’s body was falling apart. Bit by bit, the tendrils were eating away at his body. His legs. His arms. His chest. His eyes. They were slowly fading away. Jeremy looked to see that the same was happening to his leg. He struggled to get the tendrils of and reached out to Ryan. 

“Ryan, take my hand!” he yelled. Ryan reached out to him. 

The second their fingers touched, everything went white for Jeremy. He looked around and saw he was in a pure white room that seemed to go on forever. Behind him was a giant door that was engraved with a tree like mural. 

“What in the-” he started. 

“Hello there Jeremy,” an echoey voice said. Jeremy turned to see a figure of pure white with a black outline sitting before him. The figure had no distinct features. It was just a person. 

“W-Who..?” 

“Well, I tend to have many names. I am the universe. I am everyone. I am everything. I am the truth. I am god, I am also,” the figure pointed at the short man, “you.” 

“W-Why am I-?” The figure grinned. 

“Well, you knocked on the door of the truth and it opened. It’s time to get what you paid for.” 

The doors behind Jeremy suddenly burst open. He slowly turned to see the giant eye and tendrils there once again. He attempted to run, but the small hand like enthralls were faster than him. The wrapped around his entire body and dragged him into the darkness the door contained. 

At first, Jeremy saw nothing. Then suddenly images started to appear all at once. HIs captors were glowing white and he screamed. Everything was flowing into his head. Information about the world. The universe. Everything. He suddenly knew answers to questions he never asked before, but it was all coming in too fast. He was pleading for it to stop. He felt like his head was going to explode. His body was falling apart just like Ryan’s. He looked forward to see a familiar silhouette. He reached out to it. 

“Ray... help me...” he said and then suddenly everything stopped. The doors were closed. His body was in one piece. He was once again staring at the white figure from before. The figure had a grin on their face. 

“So did you enjoy that?” they said. Jeremy blinked. Suddenly he knew. 

“So, we weren’t wrong. Our theory was almost perfect. We could bring Ray back! We’re just missing something,” he said as he turned towards the door. Everything him and Ryan wanted. The answer was just beyond this door. He turned back to the figure. “You have to send me back. I need to know what we were missing.” The figure laughed. 

“I can’t do that. That was the amount the toll you paid allowed.” 

“Wait. Toll?” Suddenly the figure was up close to Jeremy with a grin on their face. 

“Don’t you remember? The law of equivalent exchange? I took my payment to give you the truth. My job here is done.” 

Jeremy looked down and widened his eyes. The figure now had one very distinct feature. Their leg... Their leg was Jeremy’s. 

Suddenly rushed over his senses. He screamed in agony as he saw that his leg was gone. A pool of blood sat where it originally was. He placed his hands on what was left of his leg in a poor attempt to stop the bleeding. Tears flooded his eyes. He didn’t want this! He turned his head to where Ryan once stood and only saw Ryan’s clothes. His heart almost stopped. 

“No. No no no no no no NO! Anyone but him! He’s all I have left!” he screamed. He looked to the circle and almost vomited. The basin was replaced with a mangled corpse with an open rib cage and rotting organs. The corpse was somehow taking shallow breaths. Jeremy didn’t know how it was doing that, but he knew one thing for sure. 

That wasn’t Ray. 

But that didn’t matter anymore. All Jeremy could think about was Ryan. Ryan was never meant to be a sacrifice. He was never meant to have his body and soul just fall apart like that! Jeremy screamed and began crawling on the floor. 

“No...you won’t take him from me. Bring him back! BRING HIM BACK!” 

Jeremy bumped into something and heard it fall to the ground. He looked to see a set of black knight armor that Ryan had gotten a long time ago to decorate the house with. He slowly crawled to the armor as he heard someone running down the stairs. 

“Jeremy!” Gavin yelled as he saw the state of his friend. Jeremy ignored him and kept crawling. 

“Give him back,” he continuously muttered as he got closer to the armor. Gavin began to look around frantically for something to stop the bleeding from Jeremy’s missing leg. Jeremy had ripped the helmet off of the armor and began to draw within the suit with his own blood. 

“This is my fault. He shouldn’t be punished for this! Just bring him back! You can take anything. My soul. My arm. My other leg. My heart. Just give him back to me!” 

When Jeremy finished the blood seal, he slowly sat up and placed the helmet back on the armor. HE clapped his hands together and watched as the same blue lightning that still glowed from the human transmutation circle now glowed on the blood seal. The same black tendrils from before appeared, but not the eye. The wrapped around his right arm and began to take it from him. He screamed in agony as tears went down his face. Gavin’s eyes widened in horror as he saw what was happening. It wasn’t long until Jeremy’s arm was replaced with blood. Jeremy placed his hand where the blood was flowing and waited. He stared intently at the eyes of the armor and waited for some sign of life. A soft red glow appeared in the eye holes. He heard a soft groan and saw the armor move. The armor turned his head to Jeremy. 

“J-Jeremy...?” Jeremy released the sobs he was holding in his chest. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. This should have never happened,” he said through heavy sobs. Gavin had finished wrapping up the leg and began to work on the arm with some bandages he found in a drawer. The armor looked to Gavin. 

“G-Gavin...” Gavin jumped and looked at the armor. 

“R-Ryan?” 

Ryan lifted up his hand and saw it was now a gauntlet. He didn’t feel his body. He didn’t feel anything. He knew he should feel something, but there was nothing. He looked at Jeremy and saw the damage to the younger one’s body. 

“J-Jeremy... Jeremy what did you do?!” he shouted. The shorter man just continued to sob. 

“I’m so sorry.” 

+++++++++++++ 

Geoff sighed as he finally exited the automobile. He didn’t know why long car rides made him feel so sluggish, but they did. Jack had exit the car right behind him. 

“So, why are we here again Geoff?” Jack asked as they walked to the house they parked in front of. Geoff had shrugged. 

“A friend of mine called me a few days ago and asked me to check something out here. He seemed pretty panicked, so I figured it was something serious. Everything looks peaceful though. A part of me is hoping this was just an excuse to share a drink with me,” he said as he knocked on the door. Michael had cracked the door open and gave a small sigh of relief. 

“You’re here...” Michael said allowing the two inside. Geoff nodded and looked around the house. It seemed like your average house for Resembool. Nothing looked out of order. That was until Geoff saw Gavin sitting at the table shaking. His eyes were wide and he was just staring into a cup of tea. Geoff quickly looked over to MIchael. 

“What happened?” he asked. Michael sighed. 

“It’s better if I show you.” Geoff nodded and looked to Jack. 

“Stay here and keep an eye on Gavin.”

Jack nodded and watched as MIchael and Geoff walked into the basement. The further they went, the more worried Geoff became. He recognized the smell of blood anywhere. It grew stronger and stronger the closer they got. When they reached the basement, his eyes widened at what he saw. 

Old blood stains decorated the floor. A human transmutation circle sat in the middle of the room. The center of the circle contained scorch marks. Geoff looked at MIchael. 

“Who did this?” Michael remained silent. “Michael, I need to know who did this!” 

“What did this do to them?” 

“What?” 

“What did this damn alchemy do to them Geoff?! That’s why I called you over. I want to know why they are the way they are now! Gavin came to check on them and next thing I know...” Michael clenched up his fists in frustration. It was one to lost a precious friend, but seeing two of them suffer was even worse. Geoff placed his hand on Michael’s shoulder. 

“Where are they Michael?” he said calmly. 

Michael sighed and guided Geoff to the upstairs bedrooms. He opened the door to Ryan and Jeremy’s room. A suit of armor was standing next to a man in a wheelchair who was missing an arm and a leg. The man was staring out into nothing. He looked defeated. MIchael cleared his throat. 

“Ryan, Jeremy, this is my friend Geoff. I called him about your... condition...” he said softly. He was met with silence. 

“Michael, leave us for a moment,” Geoff said. Michael nodded and left the three of them alone. Geoff took a deep breath and looked at the man in the wheelchair. 

“So, you thought you could play god and perform the ultimate taboo to bring someone back from the dead. I gotta say kid, I don’t know to either call you crazy or stupid.” More silence. “Though I’m shocked to see that you’re still mostly intact. Most people are never come back from a human transmutation.” Jeremy tensed but said nothing. Geoff kept talking. “I should report you to Central command. Most alchemist know that human-” 

“We were desperate,” a voice said. It took Geoff a minute to realize the voice was coming from the armor. He assumed this voice belonged to Ryan. “All we wanted was to bring back Ray so everything can be back to normal and now...Our desperation has led to this.” Geoff stayed quiet. These two were broken. They now thought they had nothing to live for. Nothing mattered now that everything was gone. He couldn’t let this slide. 

“So, you two survive a human transmutation. Now what?” he said. 

“What do you mean?” 

“You two made a terrible mistake. You’ve learned from it. So, are you just going to sit there in self loathing now?” 

“What can we possibly do? Jeremy no longer has an arm and leg and I...” Ryan grew silent once again. Geoff walked closer and knocked on the armor. Hollow. 

“So you two lost your bodies. Yet here you are. Talking to me. You lived this terrible experience. Now what are you going to do about it?” Jeremy didn’t respond. Ryan grew angry. 

“Stop talking as if you know what this is like! We tried to use alchemy to do something good and look what happened! We lost part of ourselves!” 

“Then fight for them back!”

“What?” 

“You performed the ultimate taboo. Through the law of equivalent exchange, you lost your bodies. Are you just going to allow that to happen? The world is what you make of it. Are you going to let alchemy shape your world, or are you going to fight for what belongs to you?” 

Ryan couldn’t respond to that. He wanted more than anything to get his body back. To be able to feel again. To feel Jeremy’s warmth when they held each other. He didn’t want to constantly be detached from the world. 

“Who...are you?” Jeremy suddenly said making both Geoff and Ryan jump in shock. The younger man’s eyes still seemed void of life, but to Geoff, it seemed as if something was trying to break through. He cleared his throat. 

“I am Lieutenant Colonel Geoff Ramsey of the Amestrain State Military. You two are Jeremy Dooley and Ryan Haywood, correct?” Ryan nodded in response. “My superiors took notice of the research you two were performing while studying alchemy and Central. Before you left, they wanted to approach about a position, but you were already gone. I am here now to offer you the same position. You don’t have to join. It’s your choice. I think you two deserve a fighting chance. With the military, you two can have access to an abundance of research to find a way to get your bodies back. I won’t say it’s guaranteed, but it’s a shot. The choice is yours.” 

Geoff turned away and left the room. When he went downstairs, Jack was sitting next to Gavin who seemed to calm down a little. Michael was leaning on the wall next to the door. He looked up to the military man. 

“Well?” he asked. 

“They’re hurting; that’s for sure, but they’re not done fighting.” 

“I heard you give them an offer to join the military. Is that really the best choice for them?” 

“I think it’s a step. It’s their choice to make. I don’t think they-”

“Michael,” a voice said from the top of the stairs. Everyone looked up to see Jeremy at the top looking down at everyone. Ryan was right behind him. 

“Yeah Jeremy?” 

“How long will it take to make me an automail arm and leg?” Michael blinked in shock. 

“Um, making it should take a couple months. The surgery and rehab will take about three years,” he answered. 

“I’ll do the rehab in a year.” 

“Jeremy, I-” 

“I made a terrible mistake, Michael. Once that costs me an arm and a leg and Ryan his entire body. I messed up trying to bring Ray back. I deserve this, but Ray wouldn’t want to see us suffer like this.” Jeremy looked up to Ryan. He already missed those blue eyes. “If anything, I owe Ryan a great debt. He was sacrificed for my stupidity. I refuse to let that stand. I will fix this. I will fight for him. The law of equivalent exchange be damned.” Geoff chuckled as he looked in Jeremy’s eyes. There was that fire he saw trying to break free. 

“Well then, I look forward to seeing you after your rehab. Come on, Jack. We’ve got a long way back to Central. Michael, you now owe me two drinks,” he said and began to walk out the door. Jack was right behind him after he said his goodbyes. 

“What did you say to them Geoff?” he asked as the got in the car. Geoff shrugged. 

“The truth. They deserve a fighting chance for everything they went through. They just needed a spark to light that fire.” Jack sighed and started the car. 

“That kid, Gavin. He asked me how come alchemy does such a terrible thing. I told him that’s how its laws work sometimes. He then asked me if I agree with these laws. I told him that laws were there to keep order, but it’s up to us what we make of those laws. I guess that kid is going to fight too.” 

“Gavin always hated how the world works sometimes, but now... I guess he’s going to do something about it,: Geoff said with a smirk. 

Things were bound to get interesting.

**Author's Note:**

> So to clear things up. When Ray dies, he is 21 years old. Jeremy is one year older than Ray while Ryan is two years older than Jeremy. In the present, Jeremy is 28. Ryan is 30. Also we got some new characters, 
> 
> Michael and Gavin take the roles of the Rockbells. Michael in the present is 25 while Gavin is 24. In terms of their relationships, that is to be determined. I’ll see as the story goes. For now, they are friends. 
> 
> Geoff takes the role of Roy Mustang. In the present, he is 35. 
> 
> Jack takes the role of Riza Hawkeye. In the present, he is 33. 
> 
> Geoff and Jack will NOT HAVE A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP! I plan on just a close friendship. 
> 
> And as obvious as it is, Ray has served us as the Elrics’ mother. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this story of how Jeremy became the Full Metal Alchemist and how Ryan got stuck in the armor. I tried my best with the part when Geoff comes in. Motivational writing is not my strong suit. Also sorry for any mistakes I missed. I wrote this at 4 AM and was in hurry to get to bed, but I wanted to finish this. Anyway, look forward to the next part of this series.


End file.
